What is Yaws

Yaws is caused by a germ. The disease is spread from person to person especially among children who play together. In 2012, WHO recommended the use of oral azithromycin in the treatment of yaws. If left untreated, Yaws causes horrific facial disfiguration later in life.

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Why Eradication

Eradicating an infectious disease is a permanent solution. Once it is eradicated it can’t come back. Disease control, elimination and eradication should go hand in hand with socio-economic development such as building schools and hospitals, providing access to potable drinking water and improving sanitation.

The world saw the eradication of Smallpox in the 1980s. We will soon see the eradication of poliomyelitis and dracunculiasis (Guinea worm).

Yaws is targeted for eradication by WHO NTD (neglected tropical diseases) roadmap. The decision was encouraged by the findings that a single dose of oral azithromycin was curative.

We have the potential to eradicate yaws with very little money. Why should poor children continue to suffer from this disease?

There are many benefits of disease eradication that go beyond preventing illness and death :

Children don’t miss school due to illness and get a better education and thus better jobs, benefiting the economy and increasing government revenues which go back into education and healthcare.

Parents don’t have to take time off work to look after sick children and can provide more money for their families to buy food and other life essentials.

Government resources are not spent on treating those who have the disease or vaccinating against a disease that no longer exists. (Due to smallpox being eradicated we no longer need to vaccinate against it).

Eradicating diseases brings economic benefits, for example, the $9 billion spent on Polio eradication since the 1980’s has already returned almost $30 billion to the economy. Yaws eradication is a lot easier and cheaper to eradicate with the WHO estimating it to cost $400 million.

Money and resources can be relocated to the eradication and prevention of other diseases.

By eradicating Yaws, it will free millions of dollars each year to be allocated to a new charitable cause.

You will see that the remaining countries coloured in dark and light green are: Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, India, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Togo and Vanuatu. As a charity we are grateful for support from the people of the United Kingdom.

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While it costs £4 to cure a child; the money will be used, but not limited to the following in the process of eradicating Yaws:

Raise awareness

Procurement of further funding

Carry out medical surveys of current and previously endemic countries to see where the disease is

Paying for diagnostic kits to detect Yaws.

Teach WASH, which stands for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

Carry out trials to improve the process of eradicating the disease, for example reducing the dosage of Azithromycin to match Trachoma treatment.

Pay Medical staff to carry out mass drug administrations

Buy bottled water for people to swallow the tablets.

Provide food to healthcare workers carrying out the work as they are apparently often not fed in these duties.

Cover transportation costs of distributing medication across a region, for example the cost of fuel.

Pay for project managers. Rotary pays many Rotarian's to work full time in Rotary especially at the Foundation and Head Office. People are even paid to work in RIBI. Polio Plus is run by paid people.

Money is granted to the WHO to carry out Mass Drug Administration, however in some circumstances, may be paid to another organization to carry out the work, for example Doctors Without Borders.

Audit the distribution of drugs as they can disappear in transit through developing countries as people can take them to sell.

The money donated is held until we reach the level it costs for a single grant to the WHO which is $200,000. This is to make the work cost effective. However, the money may also be granted at a lower level in combination with another organization to match the $200,000 limit.

Pay for research the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine needs for Yaws

The cost of fundraising (Which we limit to 5% of donations)

The cost of administration of the charity.(Which we limit to 5% of donations)